« Wake me up in 2009 | Main | What does Geoff Hoon do all day? »
January 26, 2006
Listen to what the man said
What's this? Some actual evidence? A balanced, informed view about the difference between FPTP politics and MMP politics? Bonus.
"Graham Kelly, a former MP and New Zealand's High Commissioner to Canada who has seen both systems up close explains how it perfomed in his country."
As they say: read it in full.
As they don't, gist:
Better Things: there is "better legislation under PR"; the voters are more involved; MPs work harder for their constituencies; the cabinet no longer has effective authoritarian power; greater representation of women, minorities etc; small parties make big parties more honest
Indifferent things: early on, the smaller parties tried to exert disproportionate influence, but the voters punished them for it later; turnout has fallen, but why this is so can't be determined; transparency hasn't increased; MPs are still immature idiots; voters who voted for the winning party are annoyed that they don't have almighty power
Badder things: a bit more complicated (still not total public understanding even after almost a decade); less confidentiality, as smaller parties often leak what's going on in order to appear to be making a difference
Posted by pauldavies on January 26, 2006
